The Many Faces of Friendship

written by Emma Bartley

With the theme of friendship this month, I have been reflecting a lot on my own friendships. I have many wonderful friendships and wouldn’t be able to talk about them all in one article, but I wanted to highlight a few that show the many faces of friendship and the lessons they have taught me.

Sitting Next to Someone New

One of my strongest friendships began on the first day of high school. I walked into my first class, Geometry, and looked around for people from my grade school to sit by. I didn’t see a single girl that I knew. I looked around the classroom and spotted a girl that was just as short as me and nervously sat down next to her. I said hi and she introduced herself as Rachel, but then I quickly put my head down out of shyness. When I looked down, I saw her schedule sitting on her desk, and I realized that we had the exact same schedule! I used that as a conversation starter, and from there, we realized we had a lot in common. Now, Rachel is one of my closest friends (check out this awesome article she wrote!).

Lesson 1:  Be willing to step out of your comfort zone and say hello to someone you don’t know.  You never know what might happen!

A Slow Build to Friendship

You may not find your best friend on the first day of school, and that is totally okay. I actually started becoming closer with one of my great friends at the end of freshman year and into sophomore year. Ellie sat close to me in Geometry class (I guess Geometry is the class for making friends!), but I hadn’t talked to her a lot before the end of the year. On the last day of school, she asked me for my phone number.  I remember receiving a text message from her asking if I wanted to go to the pool. I was so excited because I really wanted to get to know Ellie better, so I immediately said yes, even though I was a little nervous! After we hung out, I realized how many interests we shared. Now, she is such a wonderful friend and I feel like I can talk with her about anything. (Read about Ellie’s trip to South Africa here!)

Lesson 2: Friendships don’t have to begin in one moment; sometimes they slowly evolve. And like Ellie did, sometimes a simple text can make a connection.  Being open to new acquaintances and being willing to put yourself out there can lead to friendship.

Not Every Day, but Still Close

Some of my strongest friendships are from grade school. Kate is one of those friends.  We have such similar personalities that we have always really understood each other. The picture to the right is from our eighth grade graduation night, when we were at our happiest but also at our saddest. Kate and I chose to go to different high schools, so we realized that we weren’t going to see each other at school every day. We still promised to stay in touch, and now our friendship is as strong as ever! (You can check out one of my favorite articles from Kate here!)

Lesson 3:  My friendship with Kate has taught me that you don’t have to see each other every day to be friends. Friendship isn’t about the amount of time you spend together, but the quality of the time when you do!

A World of Differences

I met Malkia to interview her, but I never imagined how much I would appreciate her and her story (Check out Malkia’s interview here!). Malkia offered me a new perspective and inspired me, and I knew I had to stay in touch with her. Even though there seemed to be a world of differences between Malkia’s life and mine, we  found we had many things in common and bonded over those.

Lesson 4:  My friendship with Malkia has shown me that, as humans, we are more alike than different. Making friends with people that have very different lives than you can offer a new perspective. Malkia is a special person and her friendship has made me a better person.  

Short and Sweet

Friendships don’t have to last forever. Sometimes, friends just come into your lives for a short amount of time. I became friends with a girl named Nicole at a camp that I went to over the summer. We were randomly placed into groups, and just by chance, we were placed together. Nicole and I immediately hit it off. We were partners in all the projects we had to do the week of camp. We live in different cities, though, so after the camp, we haven’t been able to see each other. We still Snapchat, but we aren’t super close because we just don’t ever get to hang out. And that is totally okay!

Lesson 5: Friendships come into our lives for many reasons…some short and some for a life-time.  All are special and worthwhile!  

My friends are some of the best people in the world, and I love them more than anything. I encourage you to reflect on your friendships and thank your best friends for just being there for you! Text a friend to let them know you appreciate them!